DETROIT – A judge has reduced the bond for the driver of a DDOT bus who is facing charges after running over and killing a woman in Downtown Detroit.
Geraldine Johnson, 59, of Detroit, was behind the wheel of a Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus when Janice Bauer, 67, was killed at 7:30 a.m. on June 2 at the intersection of Congress and Griswold streets.
Police said Bauer was using a walker in the crosswalk when the DDOT bus turned left onto Griswold Street and struck her. Bauer was pronounced dead at the scene.
Johnson has been charged with one count of moving violation causing death in this crash. She has pleaded not guilty.
During Johnson’s arraignment on Wednesday, the judge said Johnson had been involved in several other crashes in her personal vehicle and in a DDOT bus.
Johnson was involved in a deadly crash in 2015, a crash in 2018, two crashes in 2019, one crash in 2020, one crash in 2021, and another crash in 2022.
In 2015, Johnson was driving a DDOT bus when she struck and killed Joey Davis. After that crash, Johnson was retrained and allowed to return to work as a bus driver.
The court found Johnson to be a danger. Her bond was reduced to a personal bond and she will be placed on house arrest with a GPS tether. She will only be allowed to leave for medical appointments and court dates.